Legislature to Vote on Medical Marijuana Tax Bills April 18

By CA NORML

SACRAMENTO April 11, 2016 - California legislative committees are considering two different bills by North Coast legislators to tax commercial medical marijuana.

• SB 987 by Sen. McGuire (Healdsburg) would impose a 15% excise tax on retail purchases of medical marijuana, above and beyond the current 7.5+% sales tax plus various local business taxes assessed by some localities.• AB 2243 by Asm. Wood (Headsburg) would impose a cultivation tax of $9.25 per ounce on medical marijuana flowers, $2.75 per ounce on leaves, and $1.25 on each immature plant sold to licensed distributors in the state.

Cal NORML opposes both bills as excessive and premature, given that the costs would fall exclusively on medical consumers, and Californians are expected to vote on a broader legalize-and-tax initiative this November, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA).